


Atypical Tradition

by justlikedaylightsavingstime



Series: Spud's Supernatural Femslash Bingo [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Mermaids, Monarchy, Mythology - Freeform, Rivals, Royalty, alternative universe, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 11:23:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6516475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justlikedaylightsavingstime/pseuds/justlikedaylightsavingstime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claire can have everything she ever dreamed of. All she has to do is get to the Queen's trident before Krissy...and sneak through a room full of royalty and the top warriors in the kingdom. A piece of cake, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Atypical Tradition

**Author's Note:**

> Part of our Mermaid AU. If you want to find out more about the throne (and the mysterious Atargatis) then check out our World Building Handbook.
> 
> This is also a fill for the 'Claire x Krissy' square of my [spnfemslashbingo](http://www.spnfemslashbingo.tumblr.com/).
> 
> [ You can also read this on Tumblr.](http://justlikedaylightsavingstime.tumblr.com/post/142582550656/atypical-tradition)

“Shhhhh.” Claire shoved Krissy roughly aside. It was damn near impossible to get a decent view over Krissy’s bouncing head. And if they floated any higher up then Ellen would spot them in a nanosecond.

“You ‘shhhh’.” This time Krissy was the one doing the shoving, her orange tail flipping up to give a particularly violent slap to Claire’s face.

Luckily, unlike some people, Claire had a modicum of self-control and managed to refrain from responding to the challenge. There were more important things at stake than showing Krissy who the real boss was. So a glare would have to suffice. Even if it seemed to have no effect on Krissy. 

Clutching her cheek, Claire once more pushed Krissy out of the way in order to get a proper assessment of the situation. The seaweed curtain kept slipping between her fingers as she tried to pull it back. Claire’d only seen the throne room a couple of times in her life. It wasn’t necessarily somewhere you wanted to be unless you were royalty or a royal advisor, and often not even then. It wasn’t one of the more joyful places in the palace and chances were that if you were invited into the throne room you were either about to give or receive bad news.

Just a small glimpse of the room was enough to bring back the memories of Ellen’s sad eyes, the only thing Claire had been able to focus on the last time she was here. The translucent tiny shells covering every inch of floor and wall and ceiling had barely registered at the time. But now she couldn’t take her eyes off them. Each one highlighting the golden glitter of the surface behind it, muting the harsh glow and giving it a hazy quality. The cavernous room was circular, forming a ring around the only object in the entire room, the throne. In other places a throne made of bones may have seemed a little sinister or morbid. A threat or a challenge to those who dared enter the presence of mermaid royalty. But this was something altogether different.

The bones came from royalty. Each one was the last remaining piece of one of the kingdom’s great rulers. It was a longstanding ritual that whenever one of their Queens passed away her ulna bone would be respectfully removed by her successor and treated with shell sand before carefully being integrated into the throne. In this way their power would be passed down to the next generation. The legend claimed that this power could be harnessed by any Queen who so chose. The fact that it had never actually been used meant that the real power of the throne lay in its inertia. The Queens were so potent that they had no need for such a powerful object as the throne, and used it as a mere stool.

So really it was just a nice homage to Ellen and Jo’s ancestry. Even if Ellen spoke less than reverently about it. Claire had heard Ellen grumble about how uncomfortable it was on her ass multiple times. But Claire couldn’t help but admire how pretty it was. The shell sand helped to preserve each bone, giving them a reflective sheen which shone with the golden light from the walls.

Ellen was currently lounging on the throne, hearing a report from Tracy, one of Jo’s top warriors. Something about the economic effects of Lilith and Abaddon’s feud. It all went over Claire’s head to be honest. But by Atargatis, what Claire wouldn’t give to be in Tracy’s place. She just looked so regal floating there in her gleaming armour, dark hair twisting in the water.. One day Claire would be floating right there, the best of the best, the greatest fighter among all her people.

She managed to tear her mind away from such grandiose thoughts. Right now Claire and Krissy had a plan to enact. There were only a few guards floating around in the chamber. So all they had to contend with was a handful of guards, the Queen and one of the greatest warriors in the Kingdom. Easy peasy. At least Jo wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Claire was more than done being disciplined by her warrior princess. Scrubbing down killer whales in the middle of the night was no mean feat. 

Whilst Claire scoped out the room, Krissy only had attention to spare for one thing. Krissy was an eye-on-the-prize kind of girl. Which to be honest was the main reason Claire had put up with her tagging along on her mission (although Krissy would have said it was Krissy’s mission pfft). As much as Claire might spend every waking moment dreaming of the beautiful punches she could pound into Krissy smug face, she was still the only one in the entire class that had even a chance of pulling this off. Plus, their classmates had dared both of them.

And the particular prize this eye-on-the-prize girl was focused on was positioned where it always was, right behind Ellen and balanced against the back of the Bone Throne. The trident was Ellen’s most prized possession; twisted glass prongs forged by the combination of shell sand and lightning were seen as the most deadly points in the universe. It never missed its mark. Even the smooth glass handle twisted into a vicious point at the bottom.

But there was an even more important feature to the trident than its violent beauty. And that was that it was Claire’s ticket to a fasttracked dream. If she could just get her hands on that thing then she would automatically be initiated into the ranks of the guard. It was tradition. Any mermaid who could get past the Queen unawares and claim her trident was deemed worthy enough to join the ranks of the elite. Even if the mermaid in question was a 17 year old with no experience and a history of low class scores. No more school, no more being laughed at. Just following her dream. Unfortunately, Krissy wanted it just as much as she did. And so one dare later and here they were. In some kind of warped enemy/partners-in-crime situation.

Krissy’s eyes were still steadily focused on the trident, which may just have earnt an eyeroll from Claire. They needed to think this through carefully.

“So what’s the plan?” Claire asked.

“Well we’ve got no chance at taking out any of the guards without the others noticing. I was just gonna suggest making a run for it and seeing how far we get.”

“What about a distraction?” Claire yanked the little magnesium cluster out of her sea shell bra with a wink at Krissy.

“You want to blow up the throne room?” When Claire just nodded in agreement Krissy couldn’t help but sound begrudgingly impressed. “Are you crazy?”

“It has been said once or twice.” Claire glanced back past the seaweed curtain into the throne room, trying not to focus on the frown that was already on Ellen’s face. Go big or go home, right? Besides, so long as she was the one to get the trident and not Krissy, everything should be fine. Ellen couldn’t punish the one that claimed the trident. It was tradition. But there wasn’t anything protecting the loser.

The grim look on Krissy’s face told Claire that she was having similar thoughts. Claire couldn’t help a good tease “Not scared, are you? I won’t judge you if you want to swim away like a scaredy pike.”

She’d known that’s all it would take. Krissy’s tone was defensive when she replied. “Of course not. What’s this fishbrained scheme of yours then?”

“We each take a side. I go in from this end, you swim round and go in from the other side. I set off the magnesium and throw it towards the front of the room which should distract them long enough for one of us to grab the trident. May the fastest win.”

“Well it’s a stupid plan, but I’m not backing out now.” Krissy almost seemed to smile at Claire. Which was ridiculous because if there’s one thing they didn’t do it’s smile. And then Krissy’s off, her dark orange tail propelling her through the corridor as Claire watched uneasily.

It was a nervous few minutes as she waited for the brunette’s head to bob up slightly behind the seaweed curtain on the other side of the room. She knew that what she was doing was crazy, no one in living memory had managed to get the trident. But she also knew it was her best shot. 

She counted the bubbles bobbing past her lips, trying to focus herself. And there was Krissy, her face just in sight as she raised her hand up in a thumbs up. All systems go. Slowly Claire swam forwards, trying to get the airtight wrapping off her magnesium cluster. This was it. She was so close she could taste it. 

There was a bit of a trick to it and just as she had figured it out and was ready to peel it off she was rudely interrupted. A hard hand was clutching hold of her wrist and pulling it back, whilst an arm wrapped around her throat cutting off her air. Shit. In fact shit to the thousandth degree. 

She’d know that arm anywhere, and she also knew there was no way she was getting out of it. Crap, crap, crap. Yanking her elbow back didn’t seem to earn anything more than a chuckle.

“What are you upto, Sneak.” Jo sounded almost amused as her voice boomed out from behind Claire. The guards and Ellen and Tracy all turned to fix their attention on the struggling pair. And all of them looked distinctly unimpressed. Which Claire tried to ignore as she wriggled more in Jo’s grasp.

“Don’t call me Sneak!”

Eventually Jo let her go, snatching the magnesium cluster from her hand as she did so. Ellen’s voice was commanding as she asked “What’s that, Joanna?”

Jo seemed all too pleased with herself as she held up the silvery ball. “Magnesium. Looks like Sneak wanted to blow up the throne room.”

“Stop calling me Sneak!” Claire turned round to glare at Jo. They actually generally got on quite well, apart from the odd nickname and the occasional nuggie. And it was a hell of a lot easier to glare at Jo than it was to face Ellen’s censure. Which was definitely coming. Because no way was she going to get away with having explosives in the throne room.

“Jo. You’re a damned adult start acting like one.” Unlike Claire, Jo didn’t seem fazed by Ellen’s strict voice. She just smiled at her mom. Claire certainly wasn’t smiling as Ellen turned her attention back to her.

“Claire.” That was not a good sound. Ellen was a force to be reckoned with. She was up and moving towards Claire with one strong splash of her tail, the guards trailing in her wake. “You’d better have a good explanation.”

“Errm….”

“Quickly, kid.” Ellen’s voice was vicious in its intensity.

“Well, it wasn’t meant to explode. Just maybe make a bright light. It was just meant to be a…”

“Distraction!” Krissy’s voice piped up from the middle of the room, making everyone jump. She was floating next to the throne, the trident triumphantly clutched in her hands. Smug bastard.

From behind Claire Jo let out a gasp, and even Ellen spun round with a look of shock in her eyes. Tracy had a small smile on her lips whilst a couple of the other guards whistled. Of course Krissy looked infuriatingly pleased with herself.

And if that wasn’t game, set, match for Claire then she didn’t know what was. Krissy was going to have everything Claire ever wanted handed to her, whilst Claire would get to spend the next year washing bloody killer whales.

Surprise hung in the room, holding everything still for a second. To credit Ellen, she seemed to get over her shock fairly fast, swimming back over to her throne and settling down. She wasn’t one to let surprises faze her and she seemed to have already figured out what her plan of attack was as she turned in her seat. “You’re not as smart as you think you are.”

Krissy just smiled, knowing it was a begrudging acknowledgement of Krissy’s skill. It was the best she was going to get. She only smiled harder at Ellen’s next words. “I don’t know what you think you’ve let yourself in for, but I think a week in guard training will teach you what an idjit you are.”

The judgemental tone continued as she carried on talking. “As for your little friend, just be thankful I’m not planning to charge her with high treason.” Claire hung her head as Ellen spoke. She’d known the Queen for years, and found her equal parts terrifying and funny. Ever since her mother had died, Ellen had made a point of sitting her on her lap when she cried, or rubbing ointment on her scales when they felt sore. And now Claire had disappointer her. All for nothing. Just so Krissy could win everything from Claire. And the blonde felt even worse when Ellen’s tone dropped to a softer sound. “I’m disappointed in you Claire. You should have known better.”

Since Claire had her head ducked, she didn’t catch the look of guilt and indecision that flashed across Krissy’s face. Even as Ellen handed over responsibility for her sentencing to Jo she didn’t look up. It wasn’t until Krissy shouted “Wait.” That she raised her eyes.

The brunette had a firm expression on her face as she looked over at Ellen. “It’s not fair that Claire’s being punished.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s just as much down to her as it was down to me that I got hold of the trident. Without the distraction I wouldn’t have been able to get it.”

“Is there a point to this outburst?” It was pretty impressive that Krissy didn’t back down at Ellen’s imperious tone.

“Claire should get to join the guards too.” Krissy was pointedly staring Ellen down, missing the surprise on Claire’s face. Krissy was…standing up for her? What parallel world had she swum into? “Those who get the trident and live to tell the tale get the honor. Tradition and all that.”

“Except that tradition only dictates that the person who lays hands on the trident gets the honor. It’s an archaic ritual anyway. Be glad I’m humoring you and not giving you the same punishment as Claire.”

“Well in that case, we can’t deny tradition.” Krissy just grinned another one of her daredevil smiles, before she swung back her arm and threw the trident forward, sending it spinning straight towards Claire. Claire had just a split second for her life to flash before her eyes and then the trident was upon her, stopped only inches from her face by Jo’s quick arm. Somehow the Princess had jumped in front of her, grabbing the trident in her hand. 

A quick wink from Jo had Claire blinking in confusion. Apparently Claire was having a few slow moments since it took her another wink from Jo before she’d figured it out. Tentativey, she reached out to grasp the trident.

And with that everything shifted again. Claire could dare to hope. She caught Ellen’s eye, noticing the resigned look on it. Not happy, but not angry either. Small victories. And of course bigger victories too. This had happened. Everything was going to be okay.

“Bad move, Chambers. Bad move.” Was all Ellen had to say before she was barking orders again. “Tracy take the two newest guard members to their quarters and show them where they’ll be sleeping and then I want you back here immediately to finish your report.”

Claire’s brain was still trying to process what had happened as Tracy ushered her and Krissy out. The last muttered exchange she heard Ellen and Jo share as they left the room was “I expect them both to have quit within the week Jo. You understand me? You make their lives living Hell if you have to. I can’t let them make an ass out of me.”

“Yeah sure mother, it’s all about appearances, nothing to do with motherly impulses or anything.”

“You heed me Joanna. I’m your mother, and your Queen at that. You should treat me with some respect. But yes, I am worried about them. It’s much too dangerous a post for such young ones, particularly with all the trouble that’s brewing.”

“I know. They’ll be fine, I promise.”

And that was the last ominous exchange Claire heard as they exited the throne room. Tracy wasn’t saying much to them as she zapped along in front, mostly just greeting other guards and palace staff and spreading the news about what had just gone down. Krissy and Claire trailed in her wake, Krissy smiling like a fool and Claire trying to shake the confusion from her head. This had to be a dream. None of the last ten minutes could actually have happened. The one thing she could count on to ground her though was her animosity with Krissy.

“No need to thank me.” Krissy muttered with an insolent look on her face.

“You almost killed me, you dick.”

“Well you know what they say, each good deed…”

“Bite me. This doesn’t make us friends you know.”

Krissy laughed as she waved her tail in front of Claire’s face and sent ripples of water banging against her cheek. “I should hope not.”

**Author's Note:**

> There's definitely gonna be more on Claire and Krissy as guards in training (and a little birdie tells me there's gonna be some art for that too). And probably some more fluff between the two of them. We'll get to see lots more of Tracy and actually hear her speak soon (you don't get to become head of the mermaid guards without having an interesting backstory).


End file.
